I got back from South Andros Friday. We stayed at Bairís Lodge and it was absolutely first class all the way. Best food and guides on the island. (that came from a guide who works at another lodge) We fished the flat outside the lodge on our own the first day. Our first fish was the largest of the entire trip. We had no scales or camera but compared to ones we did weigh it was between 7-8 pounds. We followed the tide out to a barrier sand bar and found the mother lode of fish. I landed about 20 and Chris caught around 15. These fish were small 1.5 to 3 pounds with some larger fish thrown in. You could see the large fish but it was tough to keep the small ones off the hook. I also caught a cuda and hooked a 4 foot shark that broke off my wire after about 30 seconds. We had a guide the next four days. We headed to the south end of South Andros the first two days. This place is very remote. We had schools of 3-4 pounders to ourselves for both days. However the fishing was not easy. It was pretty windy and I got a serious case of bonefish fever the second day when wave after wave of fish came into the shallows. I lost the ability to cast first and then could not even see the fish. After a brief scolding and casting lesson from the guide things got back on track. The next two days we fished Deep Creek which is only a 10minute ride from the lodge. The fishing was mostly singles or pairs of bigger fish with a few small schools thrown in. We really started to click with the guide and it was an experience Iíll cherish forever. We had several doubles and shots at some 10 pounders. We fished on our own the last day in some tough conditions and although we did not catch many it was very rewarding to find the fish, see the fish and hook up without a guide. As far as flies go you only need a tan Clouser for South Andros. It was a great trip that I hope to repeat soon.

1) Did you fly into South Andros? Were there taxi and/or rental cars / bikes / scooters available? I am thinking of flying into Mangrove Cay, but would opt for more amenities where available. How did you get around when fishing on your own?

2) Were the flats pretty hard sand where you fished or muddy?

3) Were there ways to get across the bights? Would a kayak get around easily enough?

He's aquired "The Fever". There's no quenching his thirst for the ghost of the flats ever since he returned from Aruba. He's trying to destroy all of our marriages with talk of 10lb bones and rafts of beer and poker...(smile)

Hey Juro, there's room in my suitcase with the inflatable kayak this Friday...sorry you can't make it to Eleuthera...(double smile!).

We flew western air to Conga Town from Nassau. You would not want to show up there without making you arrangments ahead of time. There are very few amenitites on South Andros for the casual traveler. We fished the ocean side flat just in front of the lodge the first day and then the Manager Hal drove us to a hot spot and picked us back up on our last day.

We fished hard flats but you have to be very careful. I got stuck pretty good our last day wandering away from the sand flat through the turtle grass.

A Kayak would help you go up the creeks and to get out to the sand bars. Also youo would be able to keep the wind and sun at your back ore easily. It is a maze around the bights and you would not want to get lost in there. I do not think there is regular service across the bights. You could probably throw a local some bucks to take you across.

Plan the tides carefully for your trip. You want to go with with lows during the day so you can see the fish on the flats. They also feed best in the morning by far for us.

Tides were the first thing I checked, but the dates were not changeable anyway. Thanks for the tip though.

I never leave home without handheld GPS, I would think WAAS level reception is good there and although the map features will be useless it will at least provide cookie-crumbs back to the car.

I realize there are mud flats around, but how is the bight? I thought maybe the fact that there is a thru-current would keep it cleaner and harder.

I have found lodging on the water on another island that is ridiculously cheap (a bed in a cabana-style hostel). Combined with a rental car or scooter or bike I think I could make a good time of it there - but would prefer Andros.

On the other hand Grand Bahamas has lots of amenities and good fishing. It lacks the crazy factor of the smaller out-islands though. If I had my druthers I'd find an island kayak / camp excursion focused on bonefishing, but all the one's I've found are too damn preoccupied with rowing around